I truly can't believe how far this show has fallen compared to 2 or 3 years ago. Whatever grace I had left to give them from Season 6 and Armageddon is gone. In an episode where Cecile called herself "Superwoman" and we had a murder suspect that wasn't ever arrested/detained investigating her own case with her super powered lawyer and a Newspaper assistant..the worst part was Chester sending "Khiones" test results to Caitlin's mother to run on her dead daughters replacement and completely ignoring that they didn't tell her that her daughter was dead. In a 13 episode shortened final season of a once beloved show, we got yet another interlude episode from Eric Wallace and crew when we have barely advanced any main plot now halfway through the season. After 5 episodes that had little to no story and more scenes with "team Flash" than we did with the Flash himself I'm scratching my head asking myself "what in the world were they thinking when writing these episodes?".
This episode was akin to treading water which is completely baffling considering the shows show runner and writers complained about not having enough time to include other incredible stories like "blackest night", the Justice League versus Despero, or a Legends series wrap up. Cecile has become a completely unlikeable character who seems to be willing to read everyone's mind as a telepath when it suits the plot, but deems it as unethical at other points in the prior season. The writers have also completely devalued the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover considering they have decided that everyone on the show now knows that Crisis happened when that wasn't the case previously. More importantly, it was never explained how Becky Sharp (the episodes main guest star) either came back to life or survived Devoe's murderous wrath in season 4 considering the last time we saw her she was killed on screen. We were then never given a wrap up or explanation to what happened with the criminal investigation that she was at the center of and was the whole point of the episode to begin with.
The concept of a filler episode in a shortened season is flawed in itself, especially considering we have now wasted half of the final season on Cecile, Allegra and Chester's relationship, and a poorly acted Red Death character. These writers need to read the room and realize just how far they have veered off track. If this season is not completely turned around starting with the next episode, then I don't think that even the strongest of final graphic novel arcs could save this season from damaging the legacy of this show permanently. If you want to watch a well written, quality episode of comic book television or are looking for a single episode that represents what this show is/was at its best, then you should skip Season 9 Episode 6 altogether.
This episode was akin to treading water which is completely baffling considering the shows show runner and writers complained about not having enough time to include other incredible stories like "blackest night", the Justice League versus Despero, or a Legends series wrap up. Cecile has become a completely unlikeable character who seems to be willing to read everyone's mind as a telepath when it suits the plot, but deems it as unethical at other points in the prior season. The writers have also completely devalued the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover considering they have decided that everyone on the show now knows that Crisis happened when that wasn't the case previously. More importantly, it was never explained how Becky Sharp (the episodes main guest star) either came back to life or survived Devoe's murderous wrath in season 4 considering the last time we saw her she was killed on screen. We were then never given a wrap up or explanation to what happened with the criminal investigation that she was at the center of and was the whole point of the episode to begin with.
The concept of a filler episode in a shortened season is flawed in itself, especially considering we have now wasted half of the final season on Cecile, Allegra and Chester's relationship, and a poorly acted Red Death character. These writers need to read the room and realize just how far they have veered off track. If this season is not completely turned around starting with the next episode, then I don't think that even the strongest of final graphic novel arcs could save this season from damaging the legacy of this show permanently. If you want to watch a well written, quality episode of comic book television or are looking for a single episode that represents what this show is/was at its best, then you should skip Season 9 Episode 6 altogether.